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MIT has created a special headset that allows you to communicate with a computer system by simply thinking what you want to say to it, kind of like being able to issue a command to Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri telepathically.

It’s called AlterEgo and it’s a wearable device that attaches to your jaw and face (don’t worry, it’s totally non-invasive and doesn’t break the skin, although the prototype looks a little goofy) where electrodes pick up neuromuscular signals triggered when you say words in your head. These signals aren’t detectable when you look at someone who is verbalizing internally.

The researchers tested the prototype device in a study involving 10 participants and found that it transcribed internal vocalizations with 92 percent accuracy on average.

In addition to being able to understand what a user wants to communicate without vocalizing, the device can also “talk back” to the user via bone conduction that doesn’t obstruct the ear canal like regular earbuds. This makes it possible to interact with a computer system, digital assistant or some kind of artificial intelligence without having to compromise the user’s current environment by fiddling with a smartphone, speaking aloud or obstructing hearing.

“If I want to look something up that’s relevant to a conversation I’m having, I have to find my phone and type in the passcode and open an app and type in some search keyword, and the whole thing requires that I completely shift attention from my environment and the people that I’m with to the phone itself,” explains MIT professor Patti Maes in a release. “So, my students and I have for a very long time been experimenting with new form factors and new types of experience that enable people to still benefit from all the wonderful knowledge and services that these devices give us, but do it in a way that lets them remain in the present.”

The development of AlterEgo was led by one of Maes’ graduate students, Arnav Kapur. You can see a few examples of how it works in the video below.

“Our idea was: Could we have a computing platform that’s more internal, that melds human and machine in some ways and that feels like an internal extension of our own cognition,” says Kapur.

Others see plenty of potential for the system beyond silently gabbing with Alexa and Siri.

“Like, say, controlling the airplanes on the tarmac at Hartsfield Airport here in Atlanta,” says Thad Starner, a professor in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing. “You’ve got jet noise all around you, you’re wearing these big ear-protection things — wouldn’t it be great to communicate with voice in an environment where you normally wouldn’t be able to?”

Starner also imagines possible applications for the military or people with disabilities

“For example, Roger Ebert did not have the ability to speak anymore because lost his jaw to cancer. Could he do this sort of silent speech and then have a synthesizer that would speak the words?”

Kapur and the researchers are working on collecting data to make it possible to expand the vocabulary the system can comprehend.

“I think we’ll achieve full conversation some day,” he says.

To jack in to my brain and get more on the latest in science, tech and innovation, follow me on Twitter @ericcmack

I've covered science, technology, the environment and politics for outlets including CNET, PC World, BYTE, Wired, AOL and NPR. I currently produce the Warm Regards…Read More

I've covered science, technology, the environment and politics for outlets including CNET, PC World, BYTE, Wired, AOL and NPR. I currently produce the Warm Regards podcast and I've written e-books on Android and Alaska.

I began covering Silicon Valley for the now defunct Business 2.0 Magazine in 2000, but when the dot-com bubble burst, I found myself manning a public radio station in the Alaskan Bush for three years.

Upon returning to the lower 48, I covered politics, energy and the environment as a freelancer for National Public Radio programs and spent time as an online editor for AOL and Comcast.

For the past 7 years, I’ve returned to focusing on the world of technology.Read Less